Southwest announces nonstop flights to LaGuardia starting in 2013

Southwest Airlines will begin operating two nonstop daily round-trips between Nashville International Airport and New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 6, 2013, the airline announced Monday.

Southwest is eliminating three flights from New York City to Baltimore and rerouting two of those flights to Nashville.

“The new service really enhances LaGuardia’s access to our Midwestern, Southern, and Western network,” Southwest lead planner of network planning technology Bill Owen wrote on the airline’s blog.

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines already offer 10 combined nonstop flights from BNA to LGA daily. American and Delta also each offer one flight a day to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. United Airlines offers five nonstop flights to Newark, N.J., another airport hub for New York City.

Southwest also announced a new seasonal nonstop service from Nashville to Fort Meyers, Fla., for next year.